Jimmy Lai (黎智英), the 73-year-old Hong Kong media tycoon and democracy advocate, was yesterday denied bail after being charged the previous day under the territory’s National Security Law.
Lai faces a charge of collusion with foreign elements to endanger national security, apparently for posts he wrote on Twitter and interviews or commentaries he did with foreign media.
The Apple Daily, a newspaper owned by Lai, said he is accused of asking a foreign country, organization or individual to impose sanctions or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
Photo: Reuters
His case was adjourned to April 16 at the request of prosecutors, who said police needed time to review more than 1,000 posts and comments made on his Twitter account, the Apple Daily reported.
The newspaper said his charge sheet listed several foreign politicians who followed Lai on Twitter and cited commentaries he wrote and interviews he did with foreign media.
Lai, who was already being held on fraud charges after police raided his media company, was seen handcuffed with a chain around his waist as guards led him to a van to go from prison to court.
In an open letter to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) on Friday, US Senator Rick Scott called for the immediate release of Lai, along with others charged under the law, including Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), Agnes Chow (周庭) and Ivan Lam (林朗彥).
“Mr Wong, Ms Chow, Mr Lam, and Mr Lai are the faces of true bravery and are fighting for the freedom and liberties all Hong Kongers were promised under the 1997 handover,” the letter said, referring to an agreement China made with the British government to ensure the territory’s autonomy.
“They have not committed actual crimes, rather they have bravely dared to offend the fragile sensibilities of [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平),” it said.
Carrie Lam has “failed Hong Kong and its citizens,” Scott wrote in the letter, saying that over the past two years, she has “proved to be nothing more than a puppet for General Secretary Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” and has used the new national security legislation “to unfairly and unjustly prosecute men and women for standing up for freedom and participating in peaceful protests.”
“If you do not start standing for the freedoms the people of Hong Kong were rightfully promised, history will judge you harshly,” the letter said, calling on Carrie Lam “to finally do what is right, and choose instead to honor these brave men and women for their commitment to fighting for basic rights for Hong Kongers.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
AMPHIBIOUS EXERCISES: The defense ministry said that it had detected 24 Chinese PLA Air Force planes entering Taiwan’s air defense zone over the previous 24 hours Chinese movements around Taiwan were “abnormal,” Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday, flagging recent amphibious exercises in addition to drills Taipei has observed in China’s Fujian Province. Taiwan has reported a rise in Chinese military activity over the past week as dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships, have operated around the nation. “Our initial analysis is that they are doing joint drills in September, including land, sea, air and amphibious,” Chiu told reporters at the legislature in Taipei. The “recent enemy situation is quite abnormal,” he said. The comments followed a statement from the
IN MOURNING: Tsai visited the site and spoke with family members of those killed, while all the major presidential candidates said they would temporarily halt campaigning A fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park (屏東科技產業園區) killed at least seven people, including four firefighters, and injured 98, while three were still missing, authorities said yesterday. The blaze at Launch Technologies Co’s (明揚國際) plant on Jingjian Road raged for more than 12 hours after it started at about 5pm on Friday, officials said. The Pingtung County Fire Bureau early yesterday used large excavators to search for missing people, while family members waited at the scene. Pingtung County Fire Bureau Director Hsu Mei-hsueh (許美雪) said the bureau received a call about the fire at 5:31pm
RSS